English Premier League mulls winter break to emulate Europe

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, left, celebrates with teammate Cesar Azpilicueta after scoring his side’s first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Watford and Chelsea at Vicarage Road stadium in London, Monday, Feb. 5, 2018.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

LONDON — The English Premier League could emulate other European competitions by introducing a winter break.

The Premier League says it has been in talks for several months about finding a gap in the soccer calendar with the Football Association and English Football League, which organizes the three divisions below the top-flight.

The Premier League says it’s been looking at the “challenges of the increasingly congested English football calendar, and ways in which we can work together to ease fixture congestion while also giving players a mid-season break.”

January would be the most likely time for a break, given the significance of the fixtures around Christmas.

The Premier League says “provided space can be found in the calendar, we are open to this in principle and will continue constructive discussions with our football stakeholders to seek a workable solution.”